I said this in the Zimmerman 2012 thread but I'll say it again here: Florida has a set of statutes that give citizens the ability to walk around armed with pistols, gives them no duty to retreat in the face of an escalating situation, and allows them to use lethal violence to get themselves out of trouble they started. It's a broken system, and this not guilty verdict demands reform of the laws which shaped it.

Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:59 am

CriticalTheory_Breakfast

Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 1411
Location: NYC/Rochester

I'm curious, what is the general consensus here? He should've gotten manslaughter?

I'm amazed how many people I see on FB who apparently don't know anything about the case. I couldn't imagine him getting acquitted, but I also couldn't imagine him getting murder.

I don't know how anyone who paid attention to the case actually still thinks Zimmerman is a cold blooded racist killer, but that seems to be the general sentiment. Unfortunately, I think it undercuts the totally justified outrage about the verdict.

Btw, Robert Zimmerman is a hero among GZ supporters. George lucked the fuck out with that mouthpiece.

Sun Jul 14, 2013 5:14 am

Captiv8

Joined: 25 Aug 2006
Posts: 8546
Location: Third Coast

A very disappointing verdict, to be sure. From everything I've read, it seems as though the prosecution didn't present a very strong case, and refrained from playing the emotional angle. Thus, this precluded a focus on issues of race and hate crimes. Granted, trials are supposed to be based on factual evidence and not conjecture, i.e. we do not know for sure Zimmerman didn't act out of self-defense. Subjectively he looks guilty as fuck, but objectively there is enough doubt there to sway a jury, and this is exactly the tack the defense took.

And also, I 100% agree with what Mark said. Now the best thing that can come from this is stricter gun control laws, especially in regard to carrying and discharging a firearm in a "defensive" situation.

CriticalTheory_Breakfast wrote: I'm curious, what is the general consensus here? He should've gotten manslaughter?

I'm amazed how many people I see on FB who apparently don't know anything about the case. I couldn't imagine him getting acquitted, but I also couldn't imagine him getting murder.

I don't know how anyone who paid attention to the case actually still thinks Zimmerman is a cold blooded racist killer, but that seems to be the general sentiment. Unfortunately, I think it undercuts the totally justified outrage about the verdict.

Btw, Robert Zimmerman is a hero among GZ supporters. George lucked the fuck out with that mouthpiece.

I don't know if he's cold blooded. But that's irrelevant. He is a racist killer. Dems the facts. Someone is dead and it's ALL George Zimmerman's fault. A person is dead only because he was black. That's not justice.

"@politico: #Breaking: The Department of Justice says it will review the Travyon Martin-George Zimmerman case"

Sun Jul 14, 2013 9:15 am

Limbs

Joined: 04 Feb 2011
Posts: 956

Limbs wrote:

CriticalTheory_Breakfast wrote: I'm curious, what is the general consensus here? He should've gotten manslaughter?

I'm amazed how many people I see on FB who apparently don't know anything about the case. I couldn't imagine him getting acquitted, but I also couldn't imagine him getting murder.

I don't know how anyone who paid attention to the case actually still thinks Zimmerman is a cold blooded racist killer, but that seems to be the general sentiment. Unfortunately, I think it undercuts the totally justified outrage about the verdict.

Btw, Robert Zimmerman is a hero among GZ supporters. George lucked the fuck out with that mouthpiece.

I don't know if he's cold blooded. But that's irrelevant. He is a racist killer. Dems the facts. Someone is dead and it's ALL George Zimmerman's fault. A person is dead only because he was black. That's not justice.

The Zimmerman truthers are ignoring a lot of truth.

Also, if you don't think GZ is a racist killer why do you think the outrage is justified?

Sun Jul 14, 2013 9:19 am

CriticalTheory_Breakfast

Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 1411
Location: NYC/Rochester

Limbs wrote:

Limbs wrote:

CriticalTheory_Breakfast wrote: I'm curious, what is the general consensus here? He should've gotten manslaughter?

I'm amazed how many people I see on FB who apparently don't know anything about the case. I couldn't imagine him getting acquitted, but I also couldn't imagine him getting murder.

I don't know how anyone who paid attention to the case actually still thinks Zimmerman is a cold blooded racist killer, but that seems to be the general sentiment. Unfortunately, I think it undercuts the totally justified outrage about the verdict.

Btw, Robert Zimmerman is a hero among GZ supporters. George lucked the fuck out with that mouthpiece.

I don't know if he's cold blooded. But that's irrelevant. He is a racist killer. Dems the facts. Someone is dead and it's ALL George Zimmerman's fault. A person is dead only because he was black. That's not justice.

The Zimmerman truthers are ignoring a lot of truth.

Also, if you don't think GZ is a racist killer why do you think the outrage is justified?

I'm not saying he's not racist. I'm saying that the evidence in the case paints a very different picture than the narrative we've been fed since it started by the media.

In my opinion, he incorrectly profiled Trayvon because "he's sick of black kids robbing houses" or something. That's pretty racist, sure. He proceeded to follow and engage Trayvon verbally. Trayvon, again in my opinion, either out of fear or anger, attacked Zimmerman. Zimmerman panicked and shot him in "self defense".

I think his wannabe-cop attitude combined WITH his racism, and his total irresponsibility as a guy who is walking around his neighborhood with a gun, is what caused him to be in a position where he "had" to shoot Trayvon "in self defense".

The evidence suggests that he didn't set out to kill Trayvon. He's not a cold blooded killer.

I think the outrage is justified because the white people who support GZ feel that Trayvon being black is irrelevant. And that's outrageous. Everyone who supports GZ refuses to acknowledge that a black kid walking through a non-black neighborhood being followed and questioned by a dude who is NOT a cop might just maybe make that kid to react in fear or ANGER.

The defense painted Trayvon as a thug. The defense basically was banking on the narrative that this kid was bad and it was OK to take him out, since he was viciously attacking Zimmerman. It certainly didn't happen that way, but Trayvon also wasn't shot in the back while walking home with his skittles and iced tea just because he was wearing a hoodie.

Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:02 am

Limbs

Joined: 04 Feb 2011
Posts: 956

I still don't understand your gripe.

Sun Jul 14, 2013 12:49 pm

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